West Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

, north-west of the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...

, located within the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ci ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. West Melbourne recorded a population of 8,025 at the . Located adjacent to the CBD, West Melbourne is bounded by Victoria Street and the Sunbury/

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham Local government areas of Victoria, local government a ...

railway lines in the north, Footscray Road, the

Moonee Ponds Creek Moonee is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for ...

; and by

La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of Melbourne's central business district. The street wa ...

in the south. Peel Street and the

Flagstaff Gardens Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. Today it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by residents, nearby office workers and tourists. The gardens are notable fo ...

help form the eastern boundary, with the western boundary defined by the

Maribyrnong River The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Course The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near ...

and

Coode Island Coode Island is a former island at the convergence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, 4 km west of central Melbourne, Australia. The island was formed by the excavation of the Coode Canal in 1887, and became connected to the mainland ...

. Being originally largely an industrial area, a significant portion of West Melbourne is occupied by the

Port of Melbourne The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phi ...

, the Dynon Railway Yards and the Melbourne Markets. These include the Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable and Fish Markets, as well as the National Flower Centre. It also contains an increasing number of residential and commercial properties, consisting of a mixture of Victorian single and double storey

terrace house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s and converted warehouses at the north-west corner of the Melbourne CBD. It is also adjacent to the Queen Victoria Market, located on the east of Peel Street and to the south of Victoria Street.

History

West Melbourne Post Office opened on 1 March 1937 and was replaced by the Queen Vic Market Newsagency office in 1990, which closed in 1996.

Population

In the , there were 5,515 people in West Melbourne. 42.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 7.4%, India 4.9%, South Korea 4.5%, Malaysia 3.7% and New Zealand 2.6%. 45.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 10.0%, Korean 4.3%, Cantonese 3.5% and Spanish 2.0%. The most common response for religion was No Religion at 44.8%.

Transport

The

North Melbourne railway station North Melbourne railway station is the junction for the Craigieburn, Flemington Racecourse, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the inner-city Melbourne suburb of West Melbourne, and opened ...

is actually located in West Melbourne, opposite the Railway Hotel on Ireland Street. *220 Sunshine -

Gardenvale Gardenvale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Gardenvale recorded a population of 1,019 at the 2021 census. Histor ...

passes along Dudley Street operated by

Kinetic Melbourne Kinetic Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, operating a fleet of 531 buses on 43 bus routes, as well as seven SmartBus routes. It commenced operations on 31 January 2022, taking over all routes previously operated by Transdev Me ...

*401

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

–

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

via

Royal Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

, University of Melbourne (Monday to Friday), operated by

Transit Systems Victoria Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems and operates 18 List of Melbourne bus routes, bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. H ...

A number of tram routes run along the periphery of the suburb, along Victoria Street: * Route 30: St Vincent's Plaza – Docklands * Route 57: West Maribyrnong –

Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...

* Route 58: Toorak – West Coburg *

City Circle The City Circle is a mostly-underground railway line located in the Sydney central business district and Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines are owned by the Transport A ...

Culture

Churches

* West Melbourne Baptist * St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne Catholic *

St James Old Cathedral St James Old Cathedral, an Anglican church, is the oldest church in Melbourne, Australia, albeit not on its original site. It is one of the relatively few buildings in the central city which predate the Victorian gold rush of 1851. The building w ...

(Melbourne's oldest cathedral, built in 1842) * St Mary's Anglican

Hotels

* Carron Tavern,

Spencer Street Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the Hoddle Grid. Spencer Street is named for John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spenc ...

* McMahons Hotel (Moomba Hotel, formerly North West Hotel), Spencer Street * Railway Hotel, Ireland Street * Royal Mail Hotel (formerly Maitz), Spencer Street * Royal Standard Hotel, William Street * Hotel Spencer, Spencer Street * Three Crowns Hotel, Victoria Street

Restaurants

* Sassy.x Restaurant & Bar * Sarim's Cafe' * Citrus Mint * Kathmandu Cottage * Warung Agus * Le Taj * Wild East * Amiconi * Fraus * Tandoori Dhaba

Entertainment venues

* Festival Hall * Witches in Britches * The Looney Bin

Parks and gardens

* The Triangle Park (bounded by King Street, Chetwynd Street, Eades Place) * The Pocket Park (bounded by William, Howard and Rosslyn Streets)

Localities

North of the railway lines

The area bounded by Railway Parade and Spencer Street has undergone significant change since 2000. While the region has always been mixed industry and residential, the industrial flavour of the area has diminished rapidly, as West Melbourne's population increases. In Dryburgh, Laurens, Ireland, Stanley and Adderley Streets, the majority of the warehouses have been converted to townhouse developments. The development nearby of the Docklands has had a significant impact on the perceived prestige of the area, and it is rapidly losing its status as one of the most affordable precincts with such proximity to the CBD.

Shopping

West Melbourne lays claim to the southern side of Victoria Street, meaning that a small range of restaurants and shops lie within its boundaries. Otherwise it has no shopping area of its own. However the Direct Factory Outlet development on Spencer Street in the CBD, and Errol Street, North Melbourne are just outside the boundary of West Melbourne.

Coode Island

is a locality in West Melbourne's industrial zone. It is unusual in that although it is a locality of West Melbourne, with the creation of Melbourne Docklands and the Bolte Bridge, the area has become completely disconnected from the main area of the suburb. It is the site of Victoria's major

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

storage facility. The area is named after engineer John Coode and retains the "Island" name, despite no longer being an island.

Gallery

Coode Island.jpg, Coode Island viewed from the west West melbourne aerial.jpg, Aerial view of eastern commercial and residential section of West Melbourne looking south toward Melbourne CBD and Docklands. North Melbourne railway station and railyards are at right

References

External links

Local history of West Melbourne
* http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=66&pa=779&pg=1386 {{City of Melbourne suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Melbourne (LGA)